


underwater treasures

by leviadrache



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, ESO 2019, Enstars Shipping Olympics, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-28 01:59:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19802404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leviadrache/pseuds/leviadrache
Summary: Little mermaid Leo loved his freedom, loved strolling through the ocean, loved music. Together with his small fish companion Izumi, his days are never dull. But he still longed for the world above the water. And then there those dreams of a human prince with cherry red hair.[fairy tale au collab for the first round of enstars ship olymipcs!!]





	underwater treasures

_There is no hierarchy in love. We are not bound to loving only one thing. Just as I love my family and love my work, simply loving something does not mean the love you have toward other things is fake. All of this is real love. It has value, and it is sacred. No matter what sort of love it may be, it cannot be an imitation._

\---

“Hey, wait up, idiot!”

Leo loved freedom. Strolling through the sea without any destination in mind, always following his heart, writing down whatever melodies came to his mind wherever he wanted. That was his ideal life.

“I’m telling you, Milord, it’s always sooo annoying when you do this.”

Leo also loved the sea. Everywhere he swam, there were new creatures to meet, new friends to be made. Nothing was dull. Everywhere was the stage of another adventure. There was always something to discover or to explore. New melodies to be written down, inspirations to be had and music to be played. People of the sea were free.

“Are you listening? So annoying…”

More than anything, Leo loved Izumi. Well, that was obvious to anyone either way, but Leo just loved saying it out loud.

“Oi, idiot, you’re swimming too close to the coastline,” his beloved’s beautiful but grumpy sounding voice loudly interrupted his thoughts. “If you run up there without any thought, you know you won’t return.”

Leo looked at the silver fish swimming besides him.

(Perhaps one might find themselves wondering why Leo’s beautiful beloved one had the form of a small fish with icy blue eyes. First of all, those ones should remember that love is everything. It can be found anywhere and within any one. And, well, second of all: don’t try to judge Leo Tsukinaga. Common reason wasn’t something that concerned him. The people of the sea were tolerant about it too.)

Among all other fish, Leo was sure Izumi was the most beautiful one. A glistering silver tail, a shimmering body and two small blue eyes made Izumi’s beauty apparent to everyone that saw it. And that was just a short sneak peak into all the things that were amazing about Izumi.

Leo loved Izumi more than anything, but that didn’t mean he had to listen.

“I’m not swimming too close! And even if I was, isn’t it fine to have some fun?”

“No idea how you feel, but risking geting stuck above the water and suffering a slowly drawn out death from suffocating in the air isn’t _exactly_ my definition of fun.”

“You know it’s not on us to decide where the waves take us,” Leo said, proud of the way he phrased this sentence. “If the right moment arrives, maybe you’ll want to go too.”

“Yeah, sure,” Izumi snorted in the way only a small fish that fits into the gap of Leo’s two hands would snort. “And then you’ll magically grow lungs and conquer the world? Grow up, Leo-kun.”

Biting his lips, Leo’s eyes were still glued forwards, the outlines of where the sand beneath them was getting closer to the surface of the water. There was so much above them, so much to explore and learn about!! So much new worlds to see and even more sounds and music. He would experience this, one day, he swore to himself. But for now, all he did was sigh and turn around to follow Izumi.

Next time, he would convince Izumi to let him go.

\---

Tsukasa longed for the sea. Its endless width when you look at it from the shore, the way it reflects the light of the sun into thousands of sparkles, how it left even him, the prince of the realm, feeling like a small kid. There were many sailors who think otherwise of course, who believe the sea is just like an animal that can be tamed by their boats, who talk about conquering the sea as if it’s nothing. But Tsukasa didn’t believe in that. There’s life underwater, Tsukasa could feel it, and that life wasn’t going to let them get the best of it.

Not just a few times, Tsukasa had been found at the window of his room, staring out at the shore. His parents didn’t like if he spent too much of his time sailing or walking by the shore. There were more important things to be taken care of. Of course, Tsukasa knew that and he didn’t want to let his parents and their expectations down.

But sometimes, he just couldn’t help it. He felt like he was in one of those fairy tales he used to love as a kid; felt as if something, no, as if _someone_ down there was calling for him, luring him closer.

And then there were those dreams.

They always started at the same place. An endless shore and the familiar smell of the sea. The sound of waves hitting against the sand. One after the other, crashing and falling apart on top of each other and then fading away again as the next ones came. Each of them more powerful and more beautiful than the one before, and yet, none of them were meant to last.

Surely, the ocean was of endless and eternal beauty, but each wave was made for just one journey.

It might be a futile thought, worrying of the short life span of the waves, when human lives were just as temporary, but Tsukasa couldn’t help it. He had been here so many times, thinking about the way of the ocean and its waves, about the limitless sky and the deep ocean. It was how he distracted himself and got his mind prepared for what was to come.

Soon enough, there were voices from the ocean, calling for him. Without doubt, they would always show up every time he had this dream.

It was like destiny. The scenery might change, waves came and left, but the dream always ended in the same way.

First, he just heard their voices. Then they appeared.

Tsukasa knew their origin laid within the ocean, but he had no idea how they made their way to him. With the blink of an eye, they would be right there in front of him. One of them in front of him, with red hair, loosely tied at the back of his neck. The other right behind him, wrapping long slender arms around Tsukasa’s body and pulling him closer.

“You’re _ours_ ,” he would breathe against Tsukasa’s neck. Tsukasa didn’t need to turn to see the look on the other’s face. In his mind, he could already see those icy blue eyes, that beautiful grey hair and those thin lips curled into a smirk. The dream was always the same after all.

Well, that didn’t mean Tsukasa wouldn’t give in to the temptation.

It was hard to fight the urge, especially with the excitement and the thrill getting the better of him. So, just like every single time before, Tsukasa turned his head to the side, shivering at the sight that greeted him. This stunningly beautiful man he has seen countless times in his dreams. It was the devilish kind of grin, one that should alarm Tsukasa and make him back away. It shouldn’t make Tsukasa’s blood boiling hot, shouldn’t make heat rush to his cheeks.

“Hey now, don’t ignore me!!”

Suddenly he felt was another pair of hands on his body, hands that were a tad smaller but even more insistent.

There was a sigh behind him. Izumi sighed. “Yes yes, Milord, we haven’t forgotten you.”

“Good,” purred the red haired – _Leo_ , Tsukasa thought, no, he _knew_ this name.

While he was being held from behind by Izumi, Leo’s hands started travelling over his chest slowly. They were kind, caring and light on Tsukasa’s body. But they still made his breath speed up, made him shiver and gasp. He knew it was just a dream, it was just the same dream as always, but every single time, the sensation was _too much_ –

The excitement of what he knew was going to happen, how the hold on him from behind would loosen up, because those hands that were holding until then would sneak lower to wrap around his wrists tenderly, but firm. They ran over the back of his hands and over his palms in a reassuring manner, but they would be no help for Tsukasa’s excitement to go down.

Nothing could.

He was helpless to the way Leo’s lips curled up into an almost sinister grin, fangs showing; helpless to the way Leo’s fingers wrapped around the back of his neck, until Leo finally leaned closer to claim Tsukasa’s lips as _his_.

He was helpless for Izumi and Leo.

\---

Of course, Leo would come back to that spot close to the shore.

It didn’t surprise Izumi at all, but it didn’t make him any happier about the situation either. Following Leo around when he got into his adventurous moods was always a hassle, but Izumi especially hated when they got close to the shore. Something about Leo’s fascination with the people above the water didn’t sit right with Izumi.

After all, the sea had Izumi. It was beyond understandable why Leo was still yearning for something from above when Izumi was right  _ there _ .

“You can’t be thinking about that again, are you?”

Instead of replying, Leo hummed. He seemed to be lost in thought, as he tended to get sometimes. Izumi wasn’t sure if Leo even was aware of his surroundings when he got this way. It was hard to imagine, but someone like Izumi, who knew about magic and the way it worked, it wouldn’t faze him if Leo’s mind just went into a state where nothing existed besides his music and those melodies no one but him could hear.

Usually, Izumi would just wait for this burst of inspiration to pass and for Leo to turn back to normal – or well, as close to normal as one could expect from Leo - but this time something was different. Perhaps mere fish wouldn’t be able to sense something was off, Izumi was anything but just a fish. He could tell there was a young boy walking at the shore and even worse, it was the same direction that Leo was facing towards. This wasn’t just one of Leo’s bursts of inspiration, no, it was something different –

“That prince above the water… I need to see him. I need to be with him.”

With an urgency in Leo’s voice that Izumi has never heard before, he finally spoke. Although he shouldn’t be able to see that boy or prince or whatever, it was as if he was being drawn towards this person. It gave Izumi a bad feeling. He knew quite a bit about getting possessed by emotion. And out of them all, nothing was more dangerous than to long or to love.

“That’s a human? You know you can’t meet him without leaving the water.”

“But I  _ need _ to.”

He didn’t want Leo to get close to that person. It shouldn’t happen. Izumi felt his stomach churn. This wasn’t right. Leo wasn’t supposed to care about someone this much, especially not some human. There was no reason to care for one of them, they were all a bunch of good-for-nothings. They weren’t easy on the eyes either, so Izumi thought Leo was far better of without one of them. Ah, this was such a bother.

“Izumi,” Leo said, slowly tearing off his eyes away from the coastline and looking into right at Izumi. The green eyes he has always loved were pleading him. “If you can do anything, please, help me now. Maybe your magic can do something -”

Izumi hated how Leo asked this. He always thought of him and Leo as a team that was meant forever, but the way that Leo looked at this human prince made Izumi shudder. If he could lose Leo to anyone, it must have been this one. It made him feel sick.

“Are you sure about this, Milord?” Izumi’s icy blue eyes seemed to be lighting up as he looked at the boy, making Leo smile fondly.

“You can feel it too, don’t you? It’s the one I’m always dreaming of, and I know you have seen those dreams too.”

“Haaa? How would you know that?

Leo laughed. It was so easy to see through Izumi sometimes, even when Leo knew he originally was a witch, Leo couldn’t forget he was just his little silver fish too.

“I’m sure about it,” he said after a few moments, finally answering Izumi’s question. “You know who I’m talking about, so I know you must see what I can see. Shit, Izumi, he looks like stars of fire to me. I want to get closer to him.”  _ I want to touch him _ , Leo didn’t say.  _ I want to feel his lips on mine. I want to  _ love _ him. _

And, ah, wasn’t this prince unbelievably gorgeous. Leo wasn’t sure why, but despite their distance, he felt like he could directly look at him. That cherry red hair, his beautiful violet eyes and those soft looking cheeks. Everything about him as pristine and perfect. Leo wanted him. It was their fate.

When he looked at Izumi, he tried to put all his resolve into his next words, to show he was serious about this, that he wasn’t going to let Izumi or anyone else stop him. “Take me to him. I’m ready to trade anything, but please, if your magic is worth a damn cent, then let me meet him.”

Izumi sighed in defeat. “This is sooo annoying.”

“That’s a yes, right? You’re not going to say no now, will you? Izumi, my dear companion, my beloved, you’ll help me, I’m sure of it-”

“Milord, please calm down and listen.” Izumi waited a few moments, to make sure Leo wasn’t going to burst into another waterfall of words. Not that Izumi minded hearing Leo talking, but you see, this whole matter was really going to become more of a hassle than it was worth.

“He’s still a human. And as far as I can see, a pretty influential one on top of that. You can’t just take him down here without causing a big scene. Which, by the way, will not only damage my reputation, but it’ll also bring you two trouble. You don’t even know if he wants to leave his world in the first place.”

“Then take me up there!” Leo blurted out. “I know you could do that too!! In the dreams, we’re above the water with him too! And I have two legs and you’re in this stunning and gorgeous body that looks so unfairly attractive and makes me want to do  _ things _ to you.”

Feeling heat rise in his cheeks, Izumi took a deep breath. “You make all of this sound so easy…”

“That’s because I believe in you, my love!”

“I could do it, but it won’t be possible to revert the magic once it has been cast,” Izumi warned. He checked Leo’s expression to get an idea of what the other was thinking, but just as he feared, Leo didn’t seem to be bothered by this at all. His green eyes stayed determined, so Izumi started to get used to the idea of accepting defeat. “No idea why that meeting that prince is so important to you that you’d throw away your whole life, but all right. I can do it, but there’s another thing.”

“I’ll do anything.” Leo seemed to be vibrating from the energy flowing through his veins. He would always get excited about adventures, but Izumi thought it was even more intense than usual. Did he really fall for that human? 

_ Ah, what an annoying thought. _

“If you are sure about it…” Izumi muttered and naturally, Leo nodded enthusiastically.

“You see, I can easily change my shape when I leave the water. But to change yours, a little bit more is needed. I could give you legs and a body that can breathe air, but there are strings attached to that. A condition that you have to give me something in exchange to make the magic work. Of course, I could easily give you legs, but without the offering, without the proof that you really consent to this, using magic on you is the same as putting a curse on you.”

Izumi held his breath, waiting for Leo to interrupt him like he always would, but Leo stayed completely focused on his words. Even though he was burning with excitement to make his dream come true, he wasn’t taking this lightly and was (probably for the first time in his life) carefully listening to Izumi’s words.

“What kind of offering?” Leo finally asked after Izumi’s silence dragged on for a while. It was hard for Izumi to say the rest. Talking about conditions and business with someone he has grown so close to just seemed cruel. Izumi hoped Leo wouldn’t do anything stupid, but now it was too late to go back. From here, he couldn’t stop Leo. “You want me to offer you some dead bodies, do you?”

“Ew, no way, that’s soooo gross? Leo-kun, what the heck?”

“What is it then? What kind of offering do you want?” he asked again, this time more firmly and Izumi knew there wasn’t any point in avoiding the question any further.

“Something that you value more than anything. If you give this to me, then I’ll fulfil your wish.” Taking in a deep breath, Izumi looked into Leo’s familiar green eyes, cursing the world for not allowing him to read thoughts. That would make everything so much easier, but unfortunately, Izumi had to communicate through normal matters. “So, what is it that you value more than anything?”

“You.”

Leave it to Leo to be this embarrassingly blunt. It didn’t take him a second to reply and the way those green eyes were directly looking at him made Izumi’s heart skip a beat.

“Idiot! What are you trying to say?? And anyway, you’re supposed to choose something you can give up to me. Are you even taking this seriously?”

“Ehh? But you asked about what I value more than anything? Don’t be so angry, this is your fault!”

“I see…” Leo trailed off, as if he was getting lost in thought. When he spoke again, he sounded more guarded. “It’s hard to find one thing. I love my freedom; I love the sea and I love you. I love music and I love composing. I love my friends. Ah, I must be messed up for not being able to choose something, Izumi, my love, how can we make this work?”

“Well, I’m not surprised about that. After all, you’re just in the process of falling in love with a stranger and giving up everything for him. That’s just the kind of person you are,” Izumi said.  _ It’s what makes you so easy for me to love you too, idiot. _

Leo rubbed the back of his neck. “So this really is no good, huh?”

It really was hard to find a way to work with Leo under these circumstances. He loved so many things, but if they chose something that didn’t matter enough to Leo, Izumi was worried his magic wouldn’t work properly.

Freedom was too much of a vague concept to be traded in. Promising to never go back to the sea might work, if Leo wasn’t just about to leave his home either way. So that was out of question too. Which left just one choice –

“Say, Leo-kun,” Izumi spoke carefully, but Leo still looked at him with wide eyes at the sound of his name. “Out of composing music, playing music and just listening to it, what is it that you love the most?”

“Hmm,” Leo started to swim in circles, visibly contemplating. “This is such a hard question, ah, how do you expect me to choose?”

“Let me phrase this differently,” Izumi suggested. It wasn’t really his first time making such deals, so he knew how to get his points across. “Which of the following events would be the worst for you? Not being able to listen to music anymore? Feeling unable to hold instruments anymore? Or finally, not getting inspirations anymore and never being able to compose music again?”

Leo made a hurt face. He looked up towards the coastline where the prince was supposed to be standing, as if he was trying to make up his mind. Honestly, Izumi was sure this was where Leo would just give up. He could find himself another prince to get excited over, maybe even one that wasn’t unreachable. It wasn’t too late to drop this after all.

But Leo didn’t back down. When he spoke up again, he held his head up confidently and his voice was calm as he spoke.

\---

It wasn’t easy for Leo to walk the first few steps. Where being able to breathe air barely felt different to him, just the sensation of having legs was overwhelming. Moving them seemed so alien, but he couldn’t wait. Somehow, he managed one clumsy step after another. Once he got accustomed to the feelings, he looked up, ready to walk up to the handsome prince and charm him, just like he would do in all those dreams –

only to see the sight of the young man starting to shake and eventually tumbling to the ground.

“No!”

Leo screamed, trying to move rush towards him, forgetting he wasn’t used to his legs. Stumbling over his own damn feet, he fell too. Tried to get up as he fast as he could, tried to run again and falling yet another time. “Shit, Izumi, what’s wrong with him? Can’t we help him?”

Looking to his side, Leo saw that Izumi, his cute little fish friend Izumi, had turned into a human as well. With icy blue eyes and silver hair, he was standing beside Leo with crossed arms and a frown on his face.

“Please, he needs help, Izumi, if you can walk, hurry and –“

“This isn’t my trial.” Izumi said plainly. His voice sounded colder than usual and Leo couldn’t tell if it was because they were humans now, or if Izumi could truly be this cruel. “You should hurry by the way. I wonder if he’ll wake up, if you are too late.”

“But why…” Leo tried to understand what was happening. Why was this boy suffering? Why did Leo have to save him when he had no idea how to do so? Why wouldn’t Izumi help him?

Izumi didn’t meet Leo’s gaze, looking down at the sand instead. “You wanted to throw everything away for something you had no influence on. But Magic comes with a price. Sometimes it’s one that comes unexpected. I’m sure this is your fault here. But you can save him,” he seemed to put emphasis in those last words, as if he was hoping to restore hope within Leo. At least that was how it sounded in Leo’s ears.

_ If anything can save him, it’s you. _ That was what it sounded like to Leo. And what gave him strength.

Rushing to get up again, Leo tried to approach the prince once more. One step after the other, he moved slowly, as if he was stuck in time. Just walking took all his concentration. Balancing his body to adjust to the movement and make sure he won’t stumble again. He did anything he could to get closer to the prince.

With each successful step, the next one got a bit easier. After maybe ten or twenty steps without falling down, Leo felt stable on his feet, so he tried to walk faster. The prince was still so far away, but if he could keep it up like this, maybe he could make it.

Maybe the prince can be saved.

Maybe all of this wasn’t as futile as Izumi made it sound.

Maybe soon the three of them would –

“Ahhh,” burning pain flashed through his body and he collapsed. It was as if the soles of his bare feet had caught fire. Curling up on himself, he went to rub over his feet, that were indeed feeling burnt.

When he looked up, he saw Izumi towering over him again. The confidence he had felt earlier seemed to get sucked out of his body.

“Shit, Izumi, you beautiful and horrible Izumi!!!! What happened now? Have I been cursed?”

Izumi shook his head. He looked guarded but oddly calm. As if it was none of his concern that Leo was writhing on the floor from pain. As if this was just what he would expect. As if he didn’t even  _ care _ .

“No, this is no curse. It’s your trial.”

Crying out with frustration, Leo tossed and turned around. Getting to his feet was hard when the sand was burning the skin of his feet. But it turned out this was just another part of this whole arrangement of trials to make his life harder.

All he wanted was to meet this prince, to look into his eyes, to see if they were as stunning as he imagined. He wanted Izumi to look at him again without making him feel as if there was a wall of ice between them, without those hints of pity in his blue eyes. To laugh together with both of them and feel light. What he longed for was just a simple and cheerful life with Izumi and their prince.

“Wahaha!”

Leo started laughing without any chance to hold back. Unable to keep it in, he just kept going on laughing and laughing. “Ahh, I get it now! Wahaha, Izumi, you are so beautiful and so dangerous, ah, but still so clueless!! I love you.”

“Ha? Who are you calling clueless here, idiot?”

“Saying it’s my trial, wahaha, you’re so funny,” Leo giggled, slowly recovering from his laughter. “We’re two members of one team, aren’t we? Two parts of the same soul. My trial is yours, Izumi. You know that too!!”

The belief in this was enough to spur Leo on. The thought fuelled him and he managed to get up. Later on, they would ask Leo where he suddenly got this strength then, and honestly, he wasn’t sure. He didn’t know how he managed to get up to his feet and to start walking. The sand was still burning hot and he still wasn’t accustomed to having legs, but somehow he managed to walk, one step after another.

He liked to believe Izumi played his part in this, lending Leo some of his magical powers. Although Izumi would deny that he did anything each time they all talked about it, Leo just  _ knew _ this was Izumi. There was no other way than that.

With each passing moment, with each step, Leo felt stronger. His legs seemed to have gained a will of their own, carrying him closer to the prince, the beautiful and stunning prince with his cherry red hair and those matching reddened cheeks. Before he knew it, Leo was running towards him. Where his movements have been clumsy before, they were easy now. He could feel Izumi’s eyes on him from behind and see the prince in front of him and then it all clicked.

_ One, two, three heartbeats - _

“Join me.”

He stopped in his tracks and turned around to call out for Izumi. “Give me your strength, my dear companion. You’ve always been at my side, won’t you help me, my love?”

Despite the distance between them, Leo could see Izumi’s eyes widening at the last words. His cheeks were turning a cute shade of red and he muttered something inaudible to Leo. But he started walking, approaching Leo with languid and confident steps. It made Leo wonder if maybe, in a different life, people would line up just to see Izumi’s beauty.

It made Leo smile because in this life, he was the lucky person Izumi belonged with.

Once Izumi had caught up with him, Leo reached out with his hand. Izumi raised an eyebrow at the hand offered to him, his cheeks still red, but when he looked into Leo’s eyes, those blue eyes warmed up and he sighed as he took Leo’s hands.

“Gosh, Milord, you always get your way, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Leo hummed. “I love you, Izumi.”

Izumi sighed again. “Yes, yes, idiot. Shouldn’t we save your prince first?”

“Aahhh, yes!!! I almost forgot because I got so distracted by your beauty, but we should do that too!”

It was easy to reach the prince with Izumi by his side. Once they were at his side, Leo knelt down beside him, carefully pulling him into his arms. Being so close to him made everything feel so real all of sudden. Leo brushed the prince’s bangs out of his face.

“His name is Tsukasa,” Izumi said, completely unprompted. “You should try singing to him.”

Leo raised an eyebrow and looked up at Izumi, trying to figure out if the other suddenly had discovered a sense of humour, but Izumi just shrugged. “Look, I didn’t make the rules, but it usually works.”

“But…”

Could he still sing? Before they got out of the water, he had made the deal with Izumi. He hadn’t prepared himself to already get to feel the consequences of it, so this was happening way too suddenly.

“Being able to listen to music was the most precious to me. You said I wouldn’t be able to hear music from now on. How is this going to work?”

“Listening is the keyword here, Milord.” With a smile, Izumi reached out for Leo and took his hand to squeeze it reassuringly. “That doesn’t mean you can’t sing. But well, there is another option too.”

“What is it? Tell me!!”

He wasn’t ready for this yet. Just the thought of singing without being able to hear his own voice, it would be torture. So if there was a way to avoid it, he would do anything.

“It is said that nothing seals magic better than a kiss. Well, it might be kind of weird, considering, uhm,” Izumi started stuttering _. Considering we never kissed either _ , is what he was going to say, but somehow the words felt way too embarrassing to be said out loud. “But, well, it might work.”

“I’ll do it!!”

Without any further ado, Leo went right to action. He was eager to get this over and done with, tired and exhausted. Feeling the warmth of Tsukasa’s body in his arms made him feel so close to his goal, he wasn’t going to waste any time waiting around.

Carefully, he placed his lips on Tsukasa’s. They were still warm, which must have been a good sign. He could feel Tsukasa’s soft breath against his lips, but while his breath seemed to speed up, he didn’t move otherwise. Leo remained in the kiss for a bit. Perhaps magic needed its time to do its work. But even after waiting, nothing happened.

Feeling disappointed, he pulled away. “Ah, so I really need to sing for him, don’t I?”

Izumi didn’t reply to him. He wasn’t even looking on him. It seemed as if Izumi only had eyes for Tsukasa. Leo watched as Izumi pulled out of Leo’s arms and put his hand on Tsukasa’s cheek. They would make such a pretty pair, Leo thought. Perhaps it was the wrong time to think like this, but it was just the first thought that came to Leo’s mind.

Well, or perhaps it was just the right thought to have. Before Leo could even register what was happening, Izumi had his lips on Tsukasa’s to kiss him to. Unlike earlier, Tsukasa made small noises and seemed to gasp against Izumi’s lips as the life returned to him.

“Ahh, Izumi!!! You did it!!! Wahaha, I can’t believe you would give your first kiss to someone who isn’t me, but whatever!! You saved him!!!”

While Leo was shouting and laughing and celebrating their victory, Tsukasa looked at the two others in front of him. His dreams were clearly present in his mind and while he wasn’t sure how he got here, perhaps that wasn’t really all that important anyway.

What Tsukasa knew for sure was that he absolutely didn’t mind being in this place with the other two.

“Haa? You kissed him first too, it’s only fair I would get to do the same. Deal with it, Leo-kun.”

“But that’s unfair!! I want a kiss from you too.”

Tsukasa cleared his throat and licked his lips. Izumi and Leo seemed too lost in their little argument that they have forgotten their surroundings, but this just made Tsukasa more aware of the fact that he was finally with the two very attractive people from his dreams. There were so many questions on his mind that he wanted to ask, so many things he needed to know.

Damn, maybe he was cursed. But even if he was, there was only one thing he was able to think of:

If he can get them to kiss him too, he was sure they would all be living happily ever after.

\---

_ What is it that you love?  _ Many years later, the reply still came easy to Leo: he loved everyone, everywhere, everything.

He loved freedom, the sea. Izumi. Tsukasa.

Maybe there was no more music to be heard, but the music inside his head had never left him. And even more importantly, there was music within the two of them. They were his muses.

No matter what would happen, wearing a smile on his face, he would remember, with a fondness much deeper than anyone could imagine, that these two truly loved him back.

And we all know that love is all that matters, isn’t it?


End file.
